Water Pollution

News about Water Pollution, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 20, 2015

New Jersey's $225 settlement with Exxon Mobil over pollution of state's wetlands was reportedly years in the making, with Gov Chris Christie making $325 million settlement offer at private meeting in 2012; seeds of settlement were planted earlier in 2008 with Gov Jon Corzine's offer of $550 million; Gov Chris Christie's final brokered settlement has been widely criticized for falling far short of original $8.9 billion goal. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Former Freedom Industries employees Michael Burdette and Robert Reynolds plead guilty to a pollution charge in chemical spill that fouled West Virginia tap water supply in 2014. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

William Tis and Charles Herzing, two former owners of Freedom Industries, plead guilty to unlawful-discharge violations in connection with 2013 chemical spill in Charleston, SC, that resulted in cutoff of tap water for hundreds of thousands of residents. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

New Jersey Senate approves resolution urging judge to reject proposed $225 million settlement in pollution lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp case, saying amount is inadequate; also approves bill that would prevent Gov Chris Christie from directing as much money from environmental settlements into state's general fund. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

North Carolina fines Duke Energy $25.1 million for contamination of groundwater by its Sutton Plant near Wilmington; state says it is pursuing much larger action against company for spill of millions of gallons of coal ash from plant on Dan River near Virginia border. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, at town-hall-style meeting in Somerville, NJ, defends decision to settle 2004 pollution lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp for $225 million, fraction of what was originally sought; lawmakers and environmental advocates vow to block settlement, saying Christie is eager for money to help prop up state budget. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Administration of New Jersey Gov Chris Christie releases details related to $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobile Corporation in $8.9 billion lawsuit over pollution of New Jersey wetlands; deal, bringing fraction of cost needed for cleanup, has been widely criticized, but state officials have praised deal. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Editorial scores New Jersey Gov Chris Christie for negotiating $250 million settlement with Exxon Mobil Corporation in 10-year, $8.9 billion lawsuit brought by state against corporation for its contamination of 1,500 acres of wetland; asserts that settlement amounts to colossal giveaway that does little to clean up environment and is engineered to promote Christie's interests; urges state legislators to block deal. MORE

Mar. 5, 2015

Bradley M Campbell, former commissioner of New Jersey's Dept of Environmental Protection, accuses Gov Chris Christie's administration of pushing for a drastically reduced settlement with Exxon Mobil over decades of environmental contamination in state; says Christie's chief counsel, Christopher S Porrino, aggressively inserted himself in case, leading to $250 million settlement of an $8.9 billion claim. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

New Jersey State lawmakers discover obscure provision in law that could allow Gov Chris Christie to use most if not all of proposed $250 million settlement against Exxon Mobil Corp, which was sued over its spilled pipelines and explosions that contaminated wetlands and waters, toward balancing state budget; lawmakers attempt to revise law so that money goes toward restoring environmental damage, but Christie vetoes effort. MORE

Feb. 28, 2015

Exxon Mobil Corp and New Jersey quietly reach $250 million settlement to end protracted legal battle in which state was seeking $8.9 billion in damages from oil giant for contamination of 1,500 acres of wetlands. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Tokyo Electric Power Company admits it has not stopped reported leak of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean from ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant since discovery of issue in May 2014; plant was destroyed when a triple meltdown occurred after 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Federal prosecutors accuse Duke Energy of violating the federal Clean Water Act in 2014 coal ash into North Carolina's Dan River; coal ash in toxic to humans and wildlife. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Link between high concentration of cancer in particular population and environmental pollutants can be hard for lawyers and scientists to prove; case of soldiers exposed to contaminants in their drinking water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between 1950s and 1986, many of whom developed cancer decades later, illustrates difficulty. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Jennifer McIntyre study in journal Chemosphere finds that filtering toxic storm runoff water through dirt can help remove toxins harmful to aquatic life. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Authorities discover three-million-gallon saltwater leak caused by oil drilling near Blacktail Creek in North Dakota; are taking measures to prevent contaminated water from flowing into the Missouri River. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Initial tests in Glendive, Montana show water that is free of benzene, carcinogenic component of oil that had been released during spill of crude oil from Bridger Pipeline conduit; if confirmed, tests mean that residents will be able to drink tap water for first time since 40,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the Yellow Stone River. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Work crews near Glendive, Mont, are scrambling to vacuum up 50,000 gallons of oil that contaminated drinking water after spilling from ruptured pipeline into Yellowstone River; Gov Steve Bullock declares state of emergency; Bridger Pipeline Company, which operates line, shuts it down; bottled water is being trucked in for affected residents. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Drinking water is shipped to Glendive in eastern Montana after city's water supplies were contaminated by oil spill along the Yellowstone River. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency announces first federal guidelines for management and disposal of coal ash from power plants to protect water supply; some environmentalists say new regulations are too lax. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Federal grand jury indicts four owners and operators of Freedom Industries, which contaminated Elk River in West Virginia with toxic chemical spill in January; spill caused extended cutoff of drinking water to almost 300,000 residents in and near Charleston. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Study published in PLoS One estimates that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing 269,000 tons, are dispersed throughout world's oceans, even in most remote reaches; researchers cited in study call current methods for managing plastic waste unsustainable from both economic and environmental perspectives. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Study published in journal The Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports that tiny, jelly-clad crustaceans known as Holopedium are thriving in some Canadian lakes after years of acid rain have polluted them. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Lake Tai, China's third-largest freshwater body, is symbolic of country's inability to solve some of its most egregious environmental problems; government has spent billions of dollars cleaning up lake, but hundreds of factories continue to dump waste into waterways that feed it; environmentalist Wu Lihong has campaigned against pollution of lake for more than decade. MORE

Nov. 18, 2014

Environmental activists are accusing coal company Frasure Creek Mining of doctoring water pollution reports of its Kentucky operations to evade state regulators; disclosure could embarrass state after it had vowed to tighten oversight when activists caught two other coal companies in same scheme in 2010. MORE

Oct. 5, 2014

Gritty neighborhood surrounding Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal is undergoing rapid transformation following Superfund site designation of the waterway in 2010, bringing in funds for a massive cleanup; combined with efforts to rezone Gowanus neighborhood for mixed-used construction, developers are zeroing in on the area with ambitious plans for market-rate and affordable housing. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

New York City Parks Dept is assessing the challenges associated with cleaning up four dozen lakes and ponds in city parks, including Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, where excessive algae has turned water a sickly yellowish-green and runoff from nearby expressways is filled with pollutants. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Lewis Pugh describes shocking levels of garbage and pollution he encountered while swimming through world's oceans in order to raise environmental awareness; argues that best way to protect oceans is to establish a far greater number of large protected areas akin to national parks. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

New chemicals are turning up everywhere in the environment, and the health risks are mostly unknown. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency issues new blueprint for its efforts to restore the Great Lakes, including plans to clean up 10 contaminated rivers and harbors and attack poisonous algae blooms that coat parts of three lakes each summer. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that contaminated drinking water in areas where natural gas is produced from shale is most likely caused by leaky wells rather than hydraulic fracturing. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Study in journal Nature Communications reports that sheet of phytoplankton is forming a thick carpet over low-oxygen dead zone in northern Arabian Sea, development that may lead to changes in food chain and disruption of local fishing supply; researchers say untreated sewage may be partial cause. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

Grupo Mexico, mining conglomerate in Mexico, will set up $151 million trust to pay for damage caused when one of its mines spilled acid-laced copper sulfate and heavy metals into two rivers in northern Mexico on Aug 7. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

United States Geological Survey published in journal Environmental Science & Technology reports that development of safer pesticides and legal restrictions on their use have sharply reduced risk to humans from pesticide-tainted rivers and streams; reports potential risk to aquatic life in urban waters has risen. MORE

Aug. 31, 2014

Eymund Diegel, environmental planner and expert on the hydrology of the Gowanus Canal watershed in Brooklyn, is using number of unorthodox technologies to trace natural watershed that feeds into one of city's three most polluted areas; Diegel plans to use data he gathers to make sure cleanup of site is done correctly. MORE

Aug. 26, 2014

Op-Ed article by Merchant Marine Capt Charles J Moore describes visiting Great Pacific Garbage Patch, one of five major garbage patches drifting in oceans; notes shock at seeing enormous increase in plastic waste since last visiting patch in 2009; contends real challenge is to combat economic model that thrives on wasteful products and packaging. MORE

Aug. 21, 2014

North Carolina lawmakers pass legislation intended to regulate coal-ash pits and clean up toxic waste generated by coal-burning electricity plants; action comes six months after spill at Duke Energy power plant coated 70 miles of Dan River in toxic sludge and ignited debate about safety of 32 other coal ash dumps across the state. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

Mexican Environment Secretary Juan Jose Guerra Abud accuses mining company Grupo Mexico of lying about a spill of 10 million gallons of acids and heavy metals that contaminated two rivers and a dam downstream; Buenavista del Cobre copper mine could face fines of up to $3 million. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Civil defense official in Mexico says 10 million gallons of mining acid leaked into river that supplies water to tens of thousands of people; Grupo Mexico, operator of mine, has yet to respond. MORE

Aug. 11, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column contends that economic model proposed by libertarians is not realistic; points to toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie caused by phosphorus runoff as evidence that government regulation of contaminants, often opposed by libertarians, is necessary; asserts libertarian view of reality and government's relationship to it is skewed. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Op-Ed article by environmentalist David S Beckman holds that disruption of water supplies in Charleston, W Va, and Toledo, Ohio, due to coal processing- and algae-related toxins present similarities and reminders about United States water supply; cautions controlling water pollution requires ongoing vigilance and environmental awareness and that pollution presents as significant a threat as drought; suggests steps to be taken on federal and national level to avoid future pollution. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Toxic microbes known as cyanobacteria, which were responsible for contaminating municipal water supply in Toledo, Ohio, have been around for billions of years, but modern conditions are causing them to flourish worldwide; scientists hope that understanding of bacteria's ancient history and why it produces toxins will help fight threat they pose. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Pollution concerns persist about tides of phosphorus in the Great Lakes and in waterways across the United States, yet efforts to address the problem have fallen short; most visible areas in trouble are Lake Erie and Toledo, where large amounts of poisonous algae have killed dogs and other animals and wreaked tens of billion of dollars damage on commercial fishing and on recreational and vacation trades. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Army Corps of Engineers settles lawsuit that will force it to disclose for first time amount of pollutants its dams send into waterways. MORE

Aug. 4, 2014

Toledo, Ohio, residents are asked to stop using tap water after toxins are found in city's water treatment plant, likely caused by algae growing in Lake Erie; Ohio National Guard brings 33,000 gallons of drinking water to region, since there is no indication when ban might be lifted. MORE

Jul. 18, 2014

Federal environmental officials say Duke Energy has completed removal of large pockets of coal ash from the Dan River following a large spill at a North Carolina power plant. MORE

Jun. 20, 2014

Records subpoenaed by federal prosecutors as part of criminal investigation into huge coal ash spill in North Carolina show that engineers working for Duke Energy warned the company nearly 30 years ago about pipe made of corrugated metal that needed to be monitored for leaks. MORE

Jun. 15, 2014

Editorial warns of large, growing patches of plastic waste in world's oceans, noting that they present serious threat to wildlife; praises Hawaii Wildlife Fund for organizing cleanups of beaches where trash washes up in vast patches; notes that world leaders have been far less effective in their efforts to curb long-term proliferation of waste. MORE

A former New Jersey environmental commissioner wrote in an Op-Ed article that Gov. Chris Christie’s chief counsel inserted himself into an environmental settlement to “cut the deal favorable to Exxon.”